News and views on the Manchester region art world
Len Grant. Hair B & B.
As always I met Len over a small table accompanied by two black Americanos. It’s been a decades long tradition now, usually to chat about Len’s latest project, this time an illustrated book called ‘Bars and Barbers. Sketches from the Northern Quarter.’ READ MORE
Never mind the OLOX.
I was invited by Anne Fogg to the launch of a new store in Crawshawbooth, just North of Rawtenstall in the Rossendale Valley. I had no idea what a ‘Concept Store’ was. READ MORE
Adam Ralston. Creating an impression.
When I chatted with Adam we were both trying to pin down the year that I first wrote about his work. The consensus was that it was about four years ago. READ MORE
Adolphe Valette. A tale of one City.
Whenever I call in to Manchester Art Gallery (which is often) I have a wander around the Lowry and Valette room. I can’t calculate or even estimate therefore, how many times I have stood in front of work by arguably Manchester’s two most iconic artists. READ MORE
Irish Nation. Mark Kennedy on mosaics & life in general.
I wanted to have a chat with him about Irish Nation, a City-wide showing of his stunning mosaics depicting Irish icons which is on during March. I was in town and phone him. READ MORE
Heather Alderson. Looking for answers.
It's not very often that I find the answer to a question in art that I am looking for. The answer to the question I asked myself, when I kept returning to that small portrait, was answered completely and definitively. READ MORE
James Bloomfield. Restoration to creation, gasometers to social media.
Now that’s a wordy title, but there is a story which links everything. It’s now about four years since I first met James. I was fascinated to learn about his art restoration business. READ MORE
The Big Horn’s return.
Who remembers the iconic assembly of metal ‘not quite a musical instrument’ and…where is it now? READ MORE
Rob Pointon. Back to school.
Now that headline seems a strange way to begin a feature about Rob Pointon. Strange because Rob’s work is everything that I admire and appreciate in oil painting. READ MORE
Jude Wainwright. The enigma variations.
I last wrote about Jude in 2019, although I have seen her several times since then. At that time I described her as an enigma. Which in any artist is a bonus. READ MORE
Sight, touch, energy and instinct.
Work by two women who have channelled their own challenges into visual expressions of their inner beings. READ MORE
Michael and Sue. A colourful collaboration.
I called in to the launch of the collaborative show by Venture Arts artist Michael Beard and ceramicist Sue Cragg at Manchester Craft and Design Centre. READ MORE
Harley Bainbridge. On history, society & autism.
It’s almost two years since I first met photographer Harley Bainbridge and that was for an editorial piece I was writing at the time. I wasn't expecting a discussion about philosophy. READ MORE
Fort Knox.
I guess I’ve known Kelsea Knox for around a year, but until the last few days never sat down and actually talked to her. READ MORE
Art for all. Bury Art Society's Annual Show.
Manchester based artist Jude Wainwright told me how much she enjoyed being one of the three judges for the Bury Art Society Annual exhibition. READ MORE
Smolensky Gallery. Corridor of power.
I’ve walked the expansive corridor to the Everyman Cinema several times, but it has never occurred to me that the space could and should be used creatively. READ MORE
Elli Kypriadis. Not_quite AI.
The best conversations are those which veer off into an unexpected world. And my chat with Elli Kypriades was one of those. READ MORE
Len Grant: Metamorphosis.
I’ve known Len for longer than I like to contemplate. Let’s just say we go back to the 90s. READ MORE
Jen Orpin's emotional journey.
But this was an interlude in Jen’s persistent motorway paintings, which have become synonymous with her name. READ MORE
Art, Aristotle and DANC.
I was chatting to Actor Melissa Johns and Katy Boulton of the Disabled Actors Networking Community about the visual arts strand of their work. READ MORE
Conversations with Venture Arts.
I needed an injection of colour and vibrancy which I knew that I would find at Venture Arts’ latest exhibition.
Manchester, Othello and Abraham Lincoln.
Perhaps one of the most enigmatic paintings in the Manchester Art Gallery is that of Ira Aldridge, a black American actor and the first black actor to play Othello. READ MORE
Christine Southworth. A bell tower, a Bugatti and a blank sheet of paper.
I have long been an admirer of Christine Southworth’s drawings, full of energy and exploration. READ MORE
Liam Spencer: Phoenix River.
I guess it’s been a couple of decades now that I have been calling into Liam Spencer’s studio in the Rossendale Valley for a brew and a chat. READ MORE
Ghislaine Howard. Capturing the moments.
I know that everyone reading this will have walked past 151 Deansgate – Elliot House – now the home of Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce. READ MORE